Uniqueness

As an arts medium, collage has stimulated many great discussions about the nature of creativity and the definition of art. I really love that about collage; and I love discussions about art and creativity. Because it involves the use of original physical elements, analog collage, in particular I think, speaks to something important about art -- uniqueness. I think uniqueness (and it's reciprocal, replicability) is one of the central issues in any discussion of creativity. One of the reasons I switched to collage and assemblage, after being a watercolor painter, years ago; is because I felt that my painting was not especially "creative". I would often use a photograph as a model, and simply reproduce the image in my drawing and watercolor painting. These zebras are a good example. The photographic image on the left, was used as a model to create the painting on the right.

I am proud of this painted recreation of the zebras (it took MANY hours to complete this!), but I felt that paintings like this were not very creative. They weren't tapping into "the new", "the different", "the unique". Additionally, in many ways, this painting could have been replicated by others with the training/talent to do so... including me. And in fact, forgeries of famous paintings always pique people's interest (btw, the video "Art and Craft" is a GREAT documentary of famous forger Mark Landis), and are the bane of many a museum curator.

Uniqueness is one of the hallmarks of collage, -- especially of analog collage (and here I am referring to prohibition of any photocopying, as well). Replicating an analog collage would pose a particularly prickly problem, in that it would require procurement of another set of identical images. Although this is not impossible (especially with contemporary magazines), finding vintage or rare publications of books or magazines can be challenging. And when elements are extracted from their sources, it is sometimes difficult to identify, not to mention, locate those sources. And sometimes I come across, arguably, truly unique elements. 

Here's an example. This is a stock certificate for the Thompson Spring Corporation. Not only does it appear to be a somewhat unusual element (rare?), but it is signed in ink by the "powers-that-be". So even if someone else had a stock certificate like this one, it would likely have a signature that was slightly different (small, but significant detail, I think), and most likely not made-out to the same buyer. 

I was attracted to this element initially for the standard, intricate border design; but I started experimenting with placements of various other elements (as I typically do in my creative process). When I placed this wine-pouring jester over the certificate, I really liked the integration of the matching patina and the balance of the composition itself (a two-element collage ala British collagist John Stezaker?). And to be honest, I have no recollection of where I obtained the jester element.

I really don't know whether this is a finished piece (although I do like it!). But the point of this post is that I think analog collage is uniquely unique. Analog collages are not only, literally "one of a kind"; but it would often be very to truly replicate... nigh impossible.

"The Rise Above"

Well, 2020 has not gotten any better for me... and for MANY of us. I hope that everyone is practicing physical distancing during these trying times. I get angry at the folks who are not practicing safe/healthy behaviors, as they are putting many people at risk. Please, let's ALL help one another by being safe.
During my efforts at self-quarantine, I have gotten into a comfortable routine. I get up early and spend some time (too much time?) on social media including Facebook (and the Scrabble app), e-mail, and text messaging. Then I typically go for a long walk in the neighborhood, being careful to practice physical distancing. Then it's shower lunch and work, as I try to teach 5 college classes on-line. If you are interested in seeing some of my efforts, I have videos of my statistics class on YouTube (search under SPECHT PSY211). In the evening, I have a beer or two, and then head down to my "studio" (the creative cave in my basement). I was not going down too much earlier this year, because I was depressed and uninspired. Once I "forced" myself to do it, I realized how much of a sanctuary the space is for me (external space, as well as inner space). As most of you know, experiencing "flow" is very much a form of "escapism". It's comforting to be able to find that space.
So this past week, I worked on a piece that "came together" in a bit of an unexpected way... but at another level, this is how my creative process works.

I was intrigued by this element because of its symmetry and hint of Art Deco style. This became a, in a way, a potential "seed" for a new piece. I would spend some time placing this element with other elements to try to see what might "work". Here is another "seed" element that grabbed my attention...

It is a very colorful succulent-type plant photo that was part of a calendar. Once I placed the other piece on this succulent element, it struck me as something to pursue. With the addition of an element that I had had floating around my studio for months, things really started to "gel":

The element on the bottom right was from a book entitled "Steam" from 1891. Beautiful piece with which to create perspective! I knew that element was from this book... but I didn't know where the book was located in my crazy disorganized mess of a studio. I was curious about whether, in that same book, there would be an element that I could use for the bottom, left portion of the composition.

One evening this week, I "happened" across the book again, as soon as I started to look for it. I actually took that as a good "sign" that this composition was "meant to be". AND, as luck would have it, there was another etching in the book that featured a row of furnaced receding from left to right!

Now I was getting really excited. BTW, the chalice/vase in the center was taken from The Art Journal from the late 1870s. It needed lots of micro-cutting. And micro-cutting is something that I find nerve-wracking and soothing, at the same time... if that makes ANY sense.

Once my micro-cutting was done, I painted the edges of all the elements and worked on precise placements before I finalized the piece. What you should notice in. this finished piece is the reversal of the background succulent element. I think this element could have worked either way; but I decided to do it the way you see in the finished composition, partly because I made the succulent element work in a very integral way with the chalice. Notice that it looks like it is overflowing from the chalice. This effect required no cutting. Rather, it was accomplished by careful placement of the background element. So, here is the finished piece; entitled "The Rise Above".

Award-winner

Just had a glimmer of good news yesterday morning. The small format piece shown below, was selected as a cash award winner in the annual NCS Small Format Exhibition. I'm very excited about that! I had a "good feeling" about it; and am glad the juror for the show liked it too. There was a total of 98 entries; and 20 got awards. Feeling validated.

Small Works piece for NCS

This week, works are due for the Small Works Exhibit of the National Collage Society. I love the fact that NCS has both a competitive juried exhibit and a members exhibit (i.e., the Small Works Exhibit). I always look forward to producing something special for the show. And of course, I enjoy small format work in general. Here is my submission for this year's show. It's a piece I've entitled "It was never easy to manipulate my father". Below, you will also see some of the preliminary considerations I had for the background element. You can also see that I painted the edges of this piece. Since all of the works for this exhibit are shown without framing, I always paint the sides of the piece to integrate the edges into the overall composition. I think it looks more complete without cut, white edges.